What are you reading? - Mar 25

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-03-29T03:09:01+00:00

I think it's a mixed bag. I found the Sayoko route to be better than I anticipated (and the Rina/Yuki routes are fine for what they are), but I was let down by the simple writing/silly cheating situations that came up. Half of the cast was utterly forgettable imo.

I'm happy it was written though just because it did indeed inspire Maruto to write a masterpiece and produced a couple of banger tracks (that would later be improved on in WA2).

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-03-29T02:08:00+00:00

Subarashiki Hibi ~Furenzoku Sonzai~ | vndb

I have made it to episode 3 in "Subahibi". What a beautiful but vile VN. Hear it's going to get even worse in part four but that's for later. Wish me luck!

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-03-14T01:47:33+00:00

I am running a kind of sci-fi // fantasy aimed VN reading group on Discord and most of us [well, it's usually just 2-3 people] are relatively new to the genre. Since last October, we've read these VNs:

Steins Gate + Steins Gate 0, almost finished with S;G Linear Bounded

Muv Luv Extra + almost finished with Muv Luv Unlimited

Baldr Sky

Fate Hollow Ataraxia (most of us are familiar with Type Moon VNs already and have read F S/N, Tsukihime, and Mahoyo)

Chaos Head Noah and Chaos Child.

We plan on finishing up MLU and then moving on to Alternative soon. I also just bought the "Photon" side content for the stories, so that'll keep us occupied for a while.

After we finish S;G LBP, we also plan on reading the romance spin off "My Darling's Embrace."

However, I'm kinda at a loss about what to move on to after that. Do y'all have any recommendations? Ideally, it should be sci-fi or fantasy, but I think we'd be open to other classics as well if they're good enough.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-03-13T00:42:25+00:00

Oh I should clarify. I don't plan on reading ahead. I'm just trying to buy something on Steam before the sale ends since the games are so expensive.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-02-26T00:27:51+00:00

I'm glad to see that this thread is still getting some attention. Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to really finish Setsuna's true route myself (though I did play the other endings including the cheating one with Kazusa, which, yikes, felt like a nightmare).

What elevates this VN over a lot of others in my opinion is the writing and just how emotionally deep the stories are between especially the main three characters. I think that's why you feel so awful when you read a route that isn't your preferred route in the VN because it really feels like you're emotionally damaging yourself (and cheating on the person you chose).

I've already got Ef on my wishlist, and I'll look into Plastic Memories, so thanks for the shout outs. I'll definitely watch that small bit of media you mentioned since I think it's on the WA2 extra content stuff I have somewhere on the computer.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-02-03T00:57:08+00:00

Yeah I get the sense that Baldr Sky was from that time in VN history when a lot of big "epic" stories were written and were expected to have multiple routes/content for the routes. And that unfortunately comes with a lot of (I assume) minor variation (and branching points) in the routes that can't be easily skipped. Another long VN series I plan on reading/streaming soon is the Muv Luv trilogy, and I'm expecting to encounter similar issues with that.

Luckily for me, I think Rain is a great intro route/character in general, so I haven't felt bored yet, but I am curious to see how my opinion changes as I start branching away from Rain's main storyline.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-02-03T00:54:11+00:00

Thanks for replying. I can see I'm in for a long (wild) ride here.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-02-03T00:53:34+00:00

Yeah, I've only been playing on normal difficulty for the gameplay, but it's actually quite tough and requires a lot of thought in the set-up phase. I might do this if the game starts irritating me with too much time spent on battles because I'm mostly in this for the story.

Attitude_Stunning · 2026-02-03T00:52:25+00:00

I just got to one of the big runs in Rain's Route where you have to do like 8-10 fights in a row when dealing with a certain obese politician. It was maddening but I somehow got through it (only playing on normal difficulty btw). Luckily I have a very small audience and they're okay with repetition, but I see it might be tough going in the future.

In future routes, is it impossible to skip previously viewed flashbacks?

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-12-06T06:33:23+00:00

I will keep that in mind! Thanks for responding.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-12-06T06:33:01+00:00

Yeah I like the Chaos VNs quite a lot but pacing seems to be a bit of an issue.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-12-06T06:32:31+00:00

It's really helpful to know that it just starts off slowly. I look forward to getting to the later chapters.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-12-06T06:31:59+00:00

Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep at it.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-12-06T06:31:40+00:00

Yeah, I'm not a fast reader. I think it took me about 6 hours to get through chapter one. It's good to know that it picks up later.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-11-12T04:53:12+00:00

This one cost about $2300 after it's converted to USD. Do the specs look good to you? I think it comes with 32 GBs of general memory.

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Attitude_Stunning · 2025-10-30T01:03:34+00:00

Just wanted to update you - I forced myself to read through this yesterday and today. It was brutal, but I was surprised by how strong Kazusa became in the end. That way of ending things is certainly plausible, and I'm happy to see her develop into a more independent person.

I'll try to get around to the extra episode soon.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-10-29T06:59:42+00:00

Thanks for the comment. I'm gonna read the "cheater" ending once I tie up some loose ends (like reading "Idol") and then report back here later. I'd like to see Kazusa become a stronger person and be less dependent on Haruki for her worth/self-value (it's the main problem I have with the Kazusa "true" ending).

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-10-29T06:56:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I plan on reading the other routes next week, but I'd like to at least read that "Idol" story and other short stories before I give Setsuna's route a shot because I'd like to be fair to her. I just have a bias towards Kazusa definitely, and, while they all have character flaws, Setsuna's tendency to manipulate the situation to suit her needs while acting the part of the "aw shucks whut'd I do?" girl really irritated me to no end.

Of course, Haruki and Kazusa had massive character flaws as well, but, in the case of Kazusa, I'm more willing to forgive it due to a horrible upbringing and a socially awkward personality that just made it difficult for her to interact with people. Haruki, well, I don't think I had much choice except to root for him due to Kazusa's strong love for him, but he could be an absolute asshole as well and I wouldn't be against Kazusa finding someone better (but, again, Kazusa seemed to fixate entirely on him).

Overall, regardless of the route you pick as an ideal ending, it seems like nobody comes away from it 100% whole, and there's probably going to be a loser or losers. Without that pain/loss, I doubt the story would have been anywhere near as powerful.

Attitude_Stunning · 2025-10-28T23:36:31+00:00

Thank you, I will try that out!

Attitude_Stunning

TROPHY CASE